About

$38,644

676

UPDATE! We Funded!!!

Thank you all SO much! We're excited to get to work on this series, but now we have the opportunity to make more episodes, so ON TO STRETCH GOALS!!!

Duamerthrax the Indestructible

$40,000 - Duamerthrax Returns! (working title) - Matt Vancil is getting back into the makeup chair and will reprise his role as the unkillable demon, Duamerthrax the Indestructible. Vancil's also writing this one, so you know it'll be comedy gold. We're a little afraid of what Thrax is going to do. It will be EPIC!

Demon Hunters: Slice of Life is a new anthology/sketch webseries by the Dead Gentlemen about the day to day lives of the heroes keeping us safe from monsters, their support staff doing the grunt work that makes their heroics possible, and the villains working in secret to destroy us all.

Most of our fans know us from The Gamers series, or JourneyQuest, but it all started with Demon Hunters, the first film the Dead Gentlemen ever made together. Created by Matt Vancil, Demon Hunters is the story of a ragtag group of divine warriors battling against an ancient demonic foe WAY out of their league. We had no idea what we were doing, but we did it anyway, and then did it again with its sequel, Demon Hunters: Dead Camper Lake. In the years since, we’ve churned out a bunch of different projects, but we never really stopped working on Demon Hunters.

Between comics and RPGs and projects that never quite made it to fruition, we’ve continued to develop the world and its characters. We’ve always loved the Demon Hunters universe, but we never felt like we got to spend enough time in it. That’s why we’re so excited to introduce their world to a new generation of fans with this new series.

In fact, we're so excited to share it with you that we don't want to wait for this Kickstarter to end. You can watch the first episode, Demon Hunters: Missionary Opposition, RIGHT NOW!

It’s all true. Every myth. Every legend. Every pulp adventure and campfire story. This is a world of gods and monsters. Magic and Mad Science. Demon janitors and ninja vampires and sentient christmas trees. A world where an unwitting populace is under constant threat of being eaten or eradicated or erased from history. A world in desperate need of protection.
That’s why there’s DEMON HUNTERS. These monster killing badasses work for a super secret organization known as…

They keep us safe and oblivious from the terrors that dwell in the darkness so the rest of humanity can just focus on worrying about racism, sexism, corporate greed, and destroying the planet with our pollution and self-indulgence. Hard to say who’s got the better end of that deal.

Demon Hunters is like Men in Black, Agents of Shield, Supernatural and Buffy the Vampire Slayer all rolled together. No aliens though. Disbelief can only be suspended so far.

To date, the Demon Hunters property has been pretty heavily focused on a very small group of characters. Namely, those two goobers you see in episode one, Gabriel and Silent Jim. But the Brotherhood is a vast, global organization. There’s a whole world of stories to tell in the Demon Hunters universe, and it’s not all killing monsters and saving the world. With Slice of Life, we’re focusing on not-so-epic adventures from the less prestigious corners of the Demon Hunters universe. Stories from the folks working behind the scenes to make sure the actual demon hunting goes off without a hitch. From the low-level chapters left to do the crap jobs nobody else wants to do. And maybe we’ll get a peek at an ancient enemy that turns out to not be quite as annihilated as the Brotherhood thinks. Let’s take a look at the initial lineup:

THE EPISODES

Missionary Opposition - Another day, another crap assignment for Gabriel and Silent Jim. This time they’re stuck on a door-to-door monster sweep with a set of less-than-flattering cover identities. Just the latest in a long line of indignities that Gabe both can and inevitably will go on about at length. Written by Jimmy McMichael and directed by Ben Dobyns.

The Clean-up Crew - The battle’s over and the hunters have all gone home, but who’s gonna clean up all these demon guts? Time to call in the Cleanup Crew. We follow Edgar and Nikita as they mop, shovel, and industrial-strength bleach their way through what for most of us would be the worst day of our lives. For them, it’s a Tuesday. Written by JR Ralls.

Happy Anniversary - Wen’s having a rough day. As a succubus working for the Brotherhood, she has a lot of rough days, but today is special. Today’s the anniversary of...well, something she’s never quite gotten over. She’s barely holding it together as it is, but being assigned a new partner may be what sends her over the edge. Written by and starring Sarah Moore.

The Amazing Velma - Velma was willing to do anything for fame and fortune, and that’s just what her mysterious benefactors were looking for in a recruit. Now that she’s sold her soul for dazzling magical powers, it turns out dealing with demons can really get in the way of your day job. Abraca-get off my friggin' stage! Written by and starring Emilie Rommel Shimkus.

This show (and by extension the entirety of the Demon Hunters universe) is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) License. What does this mean, and why are we so excited about a license? It means that now you can make your own Demon Hunters projects without needing our permission. You can even SELL IT!

You are free to share, copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.

You may adapt, remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.

That’s right! We’re inviting you to create Demon Hunters projects along with us, as long as you follow a couple of simple rules:

You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and say if any changes were made. You cannot suggest that we endorse or support you or your project.

We’re opening Demon Hunters up to the world, and we can’t wait to see what you do with it. What can you create? Whatever you want! Make your own Demon Hunters films, novels, comics, radio plays, stage productions...anything you can think of!

WILL MY PROJECT BE CANON?

So is the stuff you make officially part of the Demon Hunters story? Not necessarily, but it’s not impossible. Only the Demon Hunters Executive Team can label a work as "Canon". You must get approval and collaborate with us to fit it within the official Demon Hunters canon. Steps include:

pitch your concept to the executive story team for notes and approval

if approved, our team will help integrate bigger picture elements and plot threads to create connections between scripts

if you plan to sell your work, the executive line producer will need to greenlight the project and budget and negotiate a fair profit-sharing agreement with you

If that sounds good to you, awesome! We look forward to working with you on expanding the Demon Hunters universe. If it sounds like too much work, that’s fine too. Thanks to this license, you can tell your story on your own terms.

We are Dead Gentlemen Productions, the company behind The Gamers movies, House Rulez series, and Demon Hunters movies, comic, and roleplaying games. We have been making films and media for 19 years and have gained international recognition and celebration for creating inclusive, meaningful and hilarious content.

Don Early is the master overlord of Dead Gentlemen Productions when he’s not in a fetal position, rocking in a corner somewhere in Bellingham. His directorial debut was on Demon Hunters: Dead Camper Lake, and has produced and executive produced such hit projects like The Gamers, The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, The Gamers: Hands of Fate, and The Journequest series. Don is the showrunner for Demon Hunters: Slice of Life and is also an actor, playing the character Silent Jim in the Demon Hunters world.

Jimmy McMichael is the Demon Hunters universe's cool stepdad. He'd never want to replace Matt Vancil, but as creator of the Demon Hunters webcomic, and co-author of the Demon Hunters RPG and Demon Hunters: A Comedy of Terrors, he has his own special relationship with the DH franchise. He's also reluctantly appeared onscreen as Herr Doktor, a character Vancil created specifically for him despite Jimmy having no interest in acting, a weak grasp of the German accent, and a crippling fear of public speaking. A solid 60% of the Demon Hunters canon only exists inside Jimmy's brain, and as such he is under 24-7 protection by a cadre of highly trained DG bodyguards. He laughs in the face of target word counts.

Emilie Rommel Shimkus is a writer, actor, and vocalist from the PNW. She plays Wren the Bard in JourneyQuest and recently produced her first short film, Tell Your Children. See what she's up to on twitter (onefootonshore) and emilierommelshimkus.com
Emilie is writing and playing the lead in The Amazing Velma, where it turns out dealing with demons is a real drag on your newly bargained fame and fortune. Abraca-get off my friggin' stage!

Sarah Moore is a creative partner at Romeo’s Foe Studios. She writes, produces, and stars in their flagship series, Gamer Chick. Also an author and model, you’ve probably seen her photographed as some version of your favorite geek culture character. For this project, Sarah has written two shorts and will be stepping in front of the camera as Wen, a succubus who has a complicated relationship with the Brotherhood.

J.R. Ralls is the writer and producer of the film Dark Dungeons, based upon the Jack Chick comic. He has also published multiple short stories in various publications. He is excited to be writing for Demon Hunters and his piece, Clean Up Crew, will show just how hard it is to dispose of a demon after the battle is done. JR lives in Greensboro, NC.

Matt Vancil is a writer, filmmaker, and game designer from Tacoma. A graduate of the American Film Institute, he wrote and directed the Gamers movies and created the web series JourneyQuest. He lives in Washington State with his family.

Jen Page is not your average mainstream actor - she is only wooed out into the real world for genre roles that theme in the fantastical. She's played the sorceress in The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, and is looking forward to reprising her Demon Hunters' role as the insanely destructive Anti-Tank Sally. If all explodes according to plan, she'll be helping write her character's Stretch Goal skit!

Beau M. K. Prichard is a freelance writer and theater director/producer in Seattle. He was born in Australia, raised in New Zealand, and educated by Quakers in Oregon. He has several novels listed on Amazon, as well as the sourcebook for the quick and dirty RPG, Frakkin' Epic.

Every backer gets access to Backer-Exclusive updates and our Backerkit Store for Add-ons (after the campaign ends). All backers ALSO receive the Demon Hunters World Bible PDF.

Demon Hunters World Bible PDF - Contains everything you need to know about the Demon Hunters world in order to create your own DH projects.

Our digital downloads are always DRM-free, which means you can play, edit, and share them anywhere. And we'll deliver them in the highest-possible quality.

We've also heard fan feedback and are including our collectible embroidered patches with every physical order: no need to wait for the stretch goal on this campaign!

THE DVD - Our DVDs are ALWAYS Region free and DRM free. We will load this DVD to its maximum capacity, but the question is... with what? Well, that depends entirely on how many episodes you help us fund. The DVD will include:

Demon Hunters: Slice of LifeWebseries

Demon Hunters: Eat In or Stakeout

Demon Hunters: Brotherhood Orientation Video

Demon Hunters: Hell Yeah Teaser Trailer

The DVD might include the following (not recommended for viewing sober):

Demon Hunters - The original and first DG college feature film

Demon Hunters: Dead Camper Lake - The sequel, and second college feature film by the DG.

Brand new commentaries (or maybe just one)

It all depends on what great new content we unlock during this campaign.

At $100 and up, you will have some choices available.

Many like to collect the DVDs and official IN-WORLD items, like the Brotherhood Pin and Brotherhood Infantry Patch.

Some may prefer just to have 4k digital files to watch the shows in its highest quality deliverable. Look for The Warehouse Key

Some may just want to see the show and get the Official T-Shirt or Bandana. Your choice.

At higher levels the rewards start combining previous rewards.

Mockups - Not Final Designs

At $125 and above, you get to Name a Demon. Demons always have an honorific in their names. Some examples might be:

Ibu - The Flatulent

Thraxkronlax - Defiler of Holy Biscuits

Zelebethdra - Eater of Rancid Spleens

Buboch - Flayer of Avocadoes

You get the idea. These names will become canon in the world, will be added to the Demon Hunters World Bible PDF in a List of Known Demons, which may or may not appear in the show.

If that's not to your liking, you're welcome to pick a monster out of any actual folklore or religion and give it a name. We're not picky. These will go in the Demon Hunters World Bible PDF in a List of Known Monsters, which may or may not appear in the show.

CONSULTATION REWARDS

At $250, and again at $500 and above, you get the opportunity to choose a consultation with Jimmy McMichael and Don Early to help create your own Demon Hunters project. We'll provide feedback, bounce ideas, give you advice on how to get started, talk about our favorite shows, or whatever you need.

If you proceed with a project, at the $500 level and above Jimmy and Don will give notes on 1 draft of your project, whatever format it may be.

VIDEO INSULTS

Demon Hunters is known by fans for its creative insults. Now you get to be the target of such an onslaught. You choose an available character, and we'll film that character insulting you. Yeah that's basically it. Characters may include:

Gabriel

Anti-Tank Sally

The Amazing Velma

Wen

Duamerthrax the Indestructible (if unlocked)

The Purple Ninja (if unlocked)

Tree (if unlocked)

And more to come

At $500, you can choose the much-coveted Red Card, which allows you to flag bad puns, off-color remarks, or other violations by our cast and crew, both from set and in-person at conventions. We'll send that person to time out, sub in somebody new, and film and upload the results for you. And now you can bring your Red Card with you, with a dual-color etched metal card (2.75 x 4.5 inch) that includes your name and backer number.

PARTICIPATION LEVELS

$1000 - Be a FEATURED EXTRA in an episode! You get to hang out on set and appear in the episode. Travel and Lodging not included.

$1999 - Join us for a day and play Demon Hunters: A Comedy of Terrors with us. We'll buy you lunch and snacks as we save the world from whatever Don or Jimmy can throw at us. You also get a signed, embossed leatherbound copy of the corebook.

$2500 - Join the cast! You will appear in an episode and speak a line! Your name will appear in the credits and on IMDb. And as a token of our appreciation for your support, you get to take home an actual custom prop from the show, and we'll sign it.

PRODUCER LEVELS

$5000 - You will sponsor a specific episode, and receive Co-Producer credit in the episode and on IMDb, as well as Co-Producer privileges, including being on set and joining our discussions as we prepare for the production. You also get a Signed Draft Script of Demon Hunters: Hell Yeah feature film, now in heavy development. We will totally not be producing the script you get. But it's still a blast. And you also get an actual custom prop from the show, and we'll sign it. Travel and Lodging not included.

$10,000 - Hell Yes you are an Executive Producer! You receive credit in the show and on IMDb, and you sponsor an episode of the show. You will collaborate with the team on the episode, and we will pay for your travel to join us on set for a day. Lodging is not included. You also get a Signed Draft Script of Demon Hunters: Hell Yeah feature film, now in heavy development. We will totally not be producing the script you get. But it's still a blast. And you also get an actual custom prop from the show, and we'll sign it.

$10,000 - Don Early will travel to your house and run a game of Demon Hunters: A Comedy of Terrors just for you and your gaming group. (Includes International destinations). Don's lodging is not included and you will need to provide that for him. You also get a Signed Draft Script of Demon Hunters: Hell Yeah feature film, now in heavy development. We will totally not be producing the script you get. But it's still a blast. And you also get an actual custom prop from the show, and we'll sign it.

We've got A LOT of stretch goals planned and we hope we can get to all of them. To start things off, each stretch goal we hit unlocks another new episode. Here's a little peek at some of what we've got in the works, in no particular order.

Nobody likes working Warehouse duty, but at least hauling all that freight around the Brotherhood's infinite storage dimension serves a purpose. It's the bureaucracy that'll break your spirit every time.

Wen makes a new "friend", and discovers a sinister secret that's been kept hidden from the world. All that and a fan favorite character makes his triumphant return.

Matt Vancil returns as Duamerthrax The Indestructible. We don't know what he's gonna do yet, but Matt agreed to let us paint him red again, and it's not like we were gonna say no to that.

Anti-Tank Sally finds herself a bit indisposed as she takes on a cabal of demon-summoning cultists. Who will come out on top? Spoiler alert: Sally wins.

Is that all we've got? Hell no! We can't stop coming up with Demon Hunters stories! But to get the rest, you've gotta unlock them.

This is really important, so read carefully:

We will charge for all shipping after the campaign in BackerKit. In order for your rewards to ship, you will need to pay shipping fees at that time. Do NOT add shipping fees to your pledge now.

The Short Version—

International Backers: expect to pay less than $9.00 in BackerKit for base shipping on the $50 reward.

Domestic Backers: expect to pay less than $5.00 in BackerKit for base shipping on the $50 reward.

The Long Version, for people who like details—

International Backers: we are working with a third-party agency to fulfill your orders from warehouses in Europe, Canada, and Australia. This should help cut your typical U.S. shipping costs by a huge margin. Please be aware that you may still be responsible for import duties. We must comply with international law and can not mark your reward as a gift or as a zero value item. Duties will not be included in your shipping charge, with one exception...

EU Backers: We will include VAT for EU members when we charge for shipping in BackerKit. That way your package should arrive with much less hassle and holdup. And a bit faster as well.

Domestic Backers: we want to get the best-possible shipping and handling rate for you. Rather than over-estimating expenses now, we will charge actual rates when we are ready to ship.

All Backers: by handling shipping this way, we reduce unknown costs now, which means we know exactly how much we can put into the production budget, and then we can use economy of scale to make specific shipping orders with exact details. What will shipping cost, you ask?

ESTIMATING SHIPPING COSTS

International orders will average $.99 handling per item, plus local shipping costs. This should still be much less than you have paid in the past. (For example, in 2013 our cost to ship a DVD internationally began at $8.59 and went up from there as the weight increased.) Unfortunately, we cannot calculate this more precisely until we know our volume and can negotiate for the best rate possible. Domestic orders will start at the current Media Mail rate for a five ounce parcel, plus a minimum of $.25 handling per item. You can estimate that shipping will begin around $3.99, plus more for larger or heavier packages that include more than a DVD. Again, we'll use our volume to negotiate for the best-possible quote.

The MAJORITY of Add-Ons will be made available in the BackerKit Pledge Manager AFTER the campaign ends. In order to make sure the MOST money goes to the production itself, it just doesn't make sense to offer add-ons during the campaign. Example: A T-Shirt add-on would be $70 before shipping costs.

That said, THESE ADD-ONS ARE AVAILABLE during the campaign. Just increase your contribution by the amount of the Add-on and we'll ask you to specify what you ordered in the Backerkit survey after the campaign is over.

Demon Hunters: A Comedy of Terrors RPG Corebook PDF - $15

Gamemaster's Apprentice Cards PDF - Demon Hunters Edition - $10

More may be unlocked during the campaign

Risks and challenges

We have a lot going on this year, and delays are possible. Most of us have day jobs, so we'll be filming on weekends and other free moments. That said we've had 19 years of practice. Still, delays can happen.

Additionally there are several previous campaigns in various stages of fulfillment this year, which may cause some delays in this Kickstarter's fulfillment. We have done our best to estimate a reasonable time we think we can deliver even given these potential conflicts, but anything can happen.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $250 or more
About $250

VIDEO INSULT

You will be insulted on camera ($75) by Gabriel, Anti-Tank Sally, or any other CHARACTER that appears in the show (including Duamerthrax if unlocked!). This will be included in the digital rewards and DVD.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 500 or more
About $500

LEVEL 2 CONSULT

You get 120 minutes of consultation with Don and Jimmy ($150) to develop your own Demon Hunters project. Our team will also provide one round of notes ($1) on a draft of your project. See Kickstarter text for more information.

You will be insulted on camera ($75) by Gabriel, AntiTank Sally, or any other CHARACTER that appears in the show (including Duamerthrax if unlocked!). This will be included in the digital rewards and DVD.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

Red Card

You will receive RED CARD PRIVILEGES ($216) for ZOE and Dead Gentlemen. You will also receive a physical, etched metal RED CARD ($10) with your name and backer number on it. See Kickstarter text for more information on both these things.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 1,500 or more
About $1,500

TRAINING MASTER

You receive 8 copies of Demon Hunters: A Comedy of Terrors leatherbound corebooks ($400), and we will lead you and up to 4 other friends on a Demon Hunters adventure online! ($350) Includes a separate session just for creating characters and getting the ropes on how to play.

You also get a beefed up version of the Level 2 Consultation. We'll work with you to create your own story in the Demon Hunters world that will be canon! ($250) We will include up to 3 rounds of notes!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 2,500 or more
About $2,500

SPEAKING ROLE

You will join us for a day on set as AN OFFICIAL CAST MEMBER ($1449) in an episode of Demon Hunters: Slice of Life. You get to speak a line in the series, receive credit in the show and on IMDb. Travel and Lodging not included.

You will also receive an genuine PROP made specifically for the show, signed! ($250).

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 5,000 or more
About $5,000

CO-PRODUCER

You will sponsor an episode! Join us for a day on set as a CO-PRODUCER ($3699) in an episode of Demon Hunters: Slice of Life. You will receive credit in the show and on IMDb.
Travel and Lodging not provided.

Additionally you will also receive a signed copy of the current draft script of DEMON HUNTERS: HELL YEAH feature film (which we totally will not produce, hehe) ($250)

You will also receive an genuine PROP made specifically for the show, signed! ($250).

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 10,000
About $10,000

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

You will sponsor an episode! Join us for a day on set as a EXECUTIVE PRODUCER ($8699) in an episode of Demon Hunters: Slice of Life. You receive credit in the show and on IMDb, and will collaborate with the team on the episode you sponsor.

Travel included. Lodging not included.

Additionally you will also receive a signed copy of the current draft script of DEMON HUNTERS: HELL YEAH feature film (which we totally will not produce, hehe) ($250)

You will also receive an genuine PROP made specifically for the show, signed! ($250).

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 10,000
About $10,000

TABLETOP AT HOME

Don will travel to your house and DM a game of Demon Hunters: A Comedy of Terrors for you and your gaming group. ($4000)

Don's Lodging not included.

Also! You will sponsor an episode! You will be an EXECUTIVE PRODUCER ($4699) in an episode of Demon Hunters: Slice of Life. You receive credit in the show and on IMDb, and will collaborate with the team on the episode you sponsor. You are invited to join us on set but travel and lodging is not included.

Additionally you will also receive a signed copy of the current draft script of DEMON HUNTERS: HELL YEAH feature film (which we totally will not produce, hehe) ($250)

You will also receive an genuine PROP made specifically for the show, signed! ($250).